Deal of the Year: BGC acquisition of GFI
Instead, BGC Partners bought the GFI Group and Trayport is soon to be sold to CME’s arch rival, the IntercontinentalExchange.
For Shaun Lynn, president of BGC Partners, the news was not entirely unexpected.
But the conversations with Heffron had gone quiet and Lynn knew that something was up. When Heffron cancelled an upcoming dinner with Lynn at short notice, BGC knew they had to act.
However, the more Lynn and BGC chief executive Howard Lutnick looked at the deal, the more they thought that it was a bad deal for GFI staff.
“We were confident that we could keep the major staff and that we would be able to clear the deal with shareholders and regulators.”
Over the next four months, the price rose with bid and counterbid up to $6.10 followed by a nail biting tender to shareholders to sell their shares to BGC.
“Mickey Gooch is still chairman of GFI, the shareholders got more than management would have paid and GFI staff are part of a big company that is well prepared for the future.”
With a deal to sell Trayport to ICE for $650m now agreed, BGC has recouped the majority of the $750m it paid for GFI Group and still holds the Fenics business, which it intends to hold on to for the time being and expand into other asset classes outside its core FX market.
For more information contact:
Karen Laureano-Rikardsen
Chief Marketing Officer
klrikardsen@bgcpartners.com
+ 1 212 829 4975
Found this useful?
Take a complimentary trial of the FOW Marketing Intelligence Platform – the comprehensive source of news and analysis across the buy- and sell- side.
Gain access to:
- A single source of in-depth news, insight and analysis across Asset Management, Securities Finance, Custody, Fund Services and Derivatives
- Our interactive database, optimized to enable you to summarise data and build graphs outlining market activity
- Exclusive whitepapers, supplements and industry analysis curated and published by Futures & Options World
- Breaking news, daily and weekly alerts on the markets most relevant to you